Sleeping Beauty
by evilmanray
Summary: AU. On a quest to lose his immortality, Yao finally reaches the castle where he must save his eternally slumbering one true love with a kiss, only to find the person in deep sleep is not exactly the princess he was promised. Russia/China, Ivan/Yao.
1. Prologue

**Title**: Sleeping Beauty

**Pairings**: Russia/China (America/England, France/Canada, Sweden/Finland, Poland/Lithuania, Denmark/Norway, Korea/Hong Kong, Greece/Japan, Germany/N. Italy, and most likely Spain/S. Italy, Prussia/Austria)

**Summary**: AU. On a quest to lose his immortality, Yao finally reaches the castle where he must save his eternally slumbering one true love with a kiss, only to find the person in deep sleep is not exactly the princess he was promised. Russia/China, Ivan/Yao.

**A/N**: To those of you who have read Enchanted, you guys remember the kingdom of the Soviet Union? Yeah, they're basically in that world. There's the reappearance of the kingdom of the Nordics and the empire of China and North Korea. Just letting you know, so you're not confused xD Well, I didn't think you would be, but you know. Whatever~ ANYWAY. This story will be nothing like Sleeping Beauty. I just used the name for a witty title, and a little bit of the plot. Like the whole 'awoken with a kiss OHEMGEE' thing. This is a prologue. A short back story. So without further ado, I present to you another Russia/China fairytale by **prayingforlove**. Ruining Disney movies, one at a time. (That should be my motto)

Enjoy.

* * *

Long, long ago, there lived two men—Wang Yao, the heir to the empire of China and North Korea, and Ivan Braginski, the prince of the kingdom of the Soviet Union. They were both, unfortunately, star-crossed lovers. They kept their love a secret for as long as possible, and planned to run away together. As bad luck would have it, a rumor had gotten out about their relationship, and Norway, a magical sorcerer from the kingdom of the Nordics, was waiting for the two when they crossed into Nordic territory. Fearing a war started by China and the Soviet Union over their missing decedents, or worse, a union between the strongest powers known, Norway took Ivan and Yao as prisoners and split them apart.

He erased their memories of each other, leaving them unable to recognize the other for as long as they lived. Just to be safe, Norway took Ivan, locked him in a tower that was shielded by the Eurasia Forest, and cast a spell so that way the prince would sleep until the end of time. He then made Yao immortal and sent the Chinese man back on his way to his empire.

Everything _would_ have gone perfectly, if Denmark hadn't meddled in his work. Denmark, always a believer in happy endings, stole a book of magic that belonged to Norway, and he made it so that Ivan could be awakened with a kiss by his one true love. The Dane also contacted a good acquaintance of his. The man he relied on, a failure of a dark wizard named Arthur Kirkland, was sent by him to contact Yao. Denmark formed a quest of sorts for Arthur and Yao—Arthur would help Yao find the castle that held Ivan, and Denmark would assist Arthur in establishing a connection with renowned mage Norway.

Yao'd had no recollection of anything about Ivan or what happened to them in the past, so it was difficult convincing him to go on the adventure with Arthur, but Denmark threw in the bonus of the loss of Yao's immortality if he rescued the Soviet. _That_ made the Chinese man consider agreeing. Four thousand years of living was enough.

So maybe Denmark had been a little bit late in his intervention, but it was the thought that counted. He also, of course, accidentally forgot to mention his stunt to Norway.

"Wait. I'm supposed to kiss this person, aru, and then I'm mortal?" Yao clarified.

"More or less," Denmark answered, scratching his head. "You get the general idea."

"What's her name?" Yao asked.

"Her…?" Denmark coughed. "Don't know. Sorry. You're going to have to figure that out on your own."

"What does she look like?"

"How should I know?"

"Gee, let me think."

"Fine, fine! She's cute." Denmark was lying at this point, but whatever. This was for true love! "Uh, she's really pretty, except she has this big nose—I'm talking _huge _here—but other than that, she's all set."

"Hmm."

"Yep. And she's a princess."

"A princess?"

"Well. _Was_ a princess a while back. But, yeah, she's royalty."

"Oh. Thank you, aru."

And so, Yao, with Arthur as a companion, began his odyssey.

Along the way, they'd managed to wrangle in heroic, aspiring cowboy Alfred F. Jones, Frenchman extraordinaire Francis Bonnefoy, and some Canadian who was Alfred's brother. Nobody could remember his name or purpose. After long days, weeks, and months of rather boring traveling and confusing directions from Arthur, the five explorers eventually reached their destination.

The tower was located in the forest of Eurasia, shrouded by twisting vines and shadowed by trees. It was hidden so carefully that Yao would have walked right past it if Alfred hadn't screamed something about it being inhabited by ghosts. Which it wasn't, that one person explained. No, instead, it had Yao's one true love captured within its clutches.

"Yao," Arthur said, sitting high on his horse, "I've done my part. We're all heading back to the kingdom of the Nordics, so you're on your own now. Good luck."

"See ya, man!" Alfred hollered cheerfully, tipping his hat up and winking. Yao rolled his eyes. "We'll be awaitin' to hear from you again!"

The four started off, waving jovially and shouting their good-byes until they could no longer be heard clearly, leaving Yao alone in the forest to finish his half of the deal.

Yao looked at the high tower and gulped.

* * *

**A/N**: Aw snap. Short prologue is short. And boring. *hides face in shame* And way to get ditched, Yao. (Yes, Alfred is a cowboy... Because it was sexy, okay...? Don't worry, those four will make an appearance again later) Also, spoiler alert. There is _no__ bad guy_. Just overly paranoid Norway. Because he seems like the type of guy to fuck around with magic like that... The troll made him do it. Jeez. Sweden and Finland show up later. (Forest of Eurasia. I'm SO original. P.S. I will probably mess around with history so if you like accuracy, then you probably shouldn't be here. This is an AU, anyway xD) And head canon says Denmark loves happy endings. He's just that kind of guy.

Also, I've got a feeling this story will be shorter than the last one by a lot. Sorrez :/ But we'll see! Enchanted was only supposed to be 10 chapters. Oops. And I know I should be working on my other story, which I am, but this needed to be done. _Really_. I missed all of you! Also, I'm category-impaired. Should this Romance/Humor, Romance/Fantasy, or Fantasy/Humor?

Oh, and sorry **Ill give flowers-for your life**, the KoHo won't be until later DDD: BUT IT'S JUST FOR YOU! :D

Love you guys! Can't wait for another adventure!


	2. I

**A/N**: Shortness is short. I'm sure a bunch of you know how this thing rolls, anyway xD Short chapters at the beginning, and then they become progressively longer as the plot starts thickening. (Plot? What is plot?) SQUEE! I'm so excited to do another fairytale like you don't even _know_. DEAR GOD THIS IS GOING TO FUCKING AWESOME. I am, like, tripping out on my excitement high. Ahaha, I sound like a noob fangirl, don't I? Yes? Yes. So, I hope you enjoy, and if you do, don't hesitate to tell me! Or be mean and don't tell me. Pssh, LIKE I CARE, MEANIES. *sob* Anyway, just to let you guys in on a little secret, NEVER EVER drink three cans of Coca-Cola before attempting to go to bed. Doesn't work. LIKE A _REAL_ AMERICAN, FUCK YEAH. HEROICS WIN! And I'm usually that friend who can crash even after drinking, like, Red Bull (it's happened before). And I'm the friend who falls asleep first at parties and wakes up last. Don't tell me I suck, I know. Because instead of sleeping here I am, updating my fanfiction. You're happy about that, aren't you? Sadists. All of you! Wow, my thoughts are jumbled like crazy. And for this chapter? Ignore the not-funny. Ignore it.

Forgive the typos it's late I went through this as best as I could but~ :D

* * *

He could do this. Without a doubt. It was for mortality, plus the bonus of love. All Yao had to do was walk through those doors, kiss his one true love, and bam! Problems solved. The plan sounded like smooth sailing in his head, but putting it into effect proved to be more difficult than imagined. It was weird, thinking about how he would have to stick his lips on a person he wasn't an acquaintance with—not like Yao would kiss any of his so-called 'friends', the jerks—and was _sleeping_, no less. It seemed more and more creepy, and almost necrophilic in a sense, the longer he pondered the situation. What would happen after he kissed the princess, too? Would she be surprised? Would there be one long moment where they stared lovingly into each other's eyes, like a scene from one of Francis's corny romance novels? Not like he had read any. Or would there be a very awkward pause where she had a panic attack and then socked him straight in the vital regions?

Just contemplating that scenario hurt.

Or maybe it would be hard to kiss her? Denmark _did_ say she had a big nose. That could be a potential issue. The entire thing could turn out to be some sort of major kissing disaster and not romantic in any way, shape or form. What was it supposed to feel like, anyway? Sparks? Eternal happiness? Vomiting a mixture of cotton candy, hearts, and fluff? And the Dane had mentioned in passing that regaining the ability to age was most likely going to make Yao feel… uncomfortable.

No, it was distracting to be thinking about minor details.

With a shaking hand, Yao reached forward, twisted the doorknob, and entered the room, shutting the door behind him quietly.

The space was freezing cold and dark, the one source of heat being a candle that rested on top of a nearby table. The room was bare, save for the table and a large bed, the one in which the princess was residing. Yao took a deep breath and approached the bed as slowly and as noiselessly as possible. This was the moment he had been waiting for.

Except…

That was definitely not a princess.

Yao stared at slumbering the face of a _man_ for the better part of at least five minutes.

Was this some kind of cruel, sick joke?

"Hey." Yao shook the shoulder of the person before him. "Wake up, aru. I think you're in the wrong place."

Silence.

"Come on…" Yao continued to try and rouse the nameless man. "This isn't funny."

The response Yao got was something akin to a loud snore.

Where was Alfred's obnoxious voice when you needed it?

Right. They had all gone and _left_ him.

After doing his part, Arthur had just ridden off into the sunset on his gay-as-rainbows unicorn, dragging everybody else with him, and Yao was pretty much stranded. The others had probably assumed he would have everything under control from that point onward and went away, instead of staying just in case something bad happened.

Which it did.

The first thing Yao was going to do when he saw Denmark was commend the Dane on being the second person to stab him in the back. It wasn't as bad as the time Yao was _literally_ stabbed in the back, but it still hurt. A lot. It felt like his heart was being ripped up into shreds by that evil polar bear dog unidentifiable creature thing sent from Hell that belonged to the Canadian.

Maybe there was another tower in the forest of Eurasia? It was highly unlikely, but a man could hope.

This was wrong. Wrong on so many levels that even _Francis's_ head would spin. What's-his-name couldn't be his one true love, as stuff like that simply didn't happen, but a closer inspection revealed that, yes, the other's nose was slightly larger than normal. He also appeared to be royalty, or at least someone of high rank, if the impeccable uniform and the medals littering it were any sign. Yao was waiting for the moment when the other would understand he wasn't getting a free kiss, get up, and walk away, but not before giving Yao an explanation for his shenanigans.

The dozer didn't move. He only snored or coughed at random intervals.

Well, this sucked.

Today climbed to the number two spot on Yao's 'Worst Days Ever' list. It rivaled the number one placeholder, but the current winner was something Yao would rather not think about ever, ever again.

Whatever. He could _try_ kissing the other.

Hesitantly, Yao bent his head and pressed his lips against ones that were so icy, it felt like automatically getting frostbite. Lavender eyes snapped open at the soft touch and the man suddenly shot up, successfully banging his forehead against Yao's. Their gazes locked for a minute as Yao rubbed his forehead and groaned because _wow_ was that painful, but the other seemed to get over it pretty quickly. He had hopped off of the bed within milliseconds, kneeling before Yao chivalrously.

"My name is Prince Ivan Braginski of the Soviet Union. And yourself?"

"Uh…" Yao was too stunned to form a coherent reply. What was his name? Right. "Wang. Wang Yao."

"Yao." Ivan took his hand and kissed it before standing up. "And from where have you traveled?"

"The empire of China and North Korea."

"Ah. Wang Yao of the empire of China and North Korea, is it, da? You have an amazing name that I will cherish for the rest of my time. I give you my deepest thanks for restoring my consciousness. Truly, from the bottom of my heart. How did accomplish such a feat, if you do not mind me asking?"

"That's not important, aru."

Yao waved his hand in the air. He wasn't about to tell Ivan he _kissed_ him, because despite the smile, Ivan looked like to type of guy to get fun out of crushing puppies with his boots. Not to mention Yao wasn't feeling any different, specifically meaning _mortal_, so something wasn't adding up. Either the Nordics were all liars who messed around with unsuspecting wanderers for laughs, or Ivan wasn't his true love. It was most likely—with any luck—the latter, but…

His kiss had woken up Ivan. Ivan hadn't made him mortal.

What was that supposed to mean?

No matter what it meant, or didn't mean, Yao wasn't about to go and tell Ivan that they may or may not be destined to be lovers. No, he'd mention something about it after he was positive as to what the prince was to him.

"… Union, da?" Ivan's last words interrupted Yao's inner monologue. "Do you agree?"

"Sorry, I wasn't listening," Yao admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Could you repeat that?"

"I was saying that since I have been gone for an immeasurable amount of time, I am not sure how long, that I must be on my way back to the Soviet Union before I am forgotten. My father must be very angry over my disappearance," Ivan explained. "As my savior, I was wondering if you would accompany me on my voyage to return to the castle of Moscow? Perhaps I could procure you some kind of reward. Would that satisfy you?"

"I should actually be heading to the kingdom of the Nordics," Yao said.

Denmark had a deep, deep hole to dig himself out of.

"Not an issue!" Ivan nodded. "We will go to the Soviet Union, I will reassure my family that I am not dead and reestablish myself as prince, and then I will take you to the Nordics as payment. Does that sound like a deal? Or would you like something more?"

"All right. That's a good offer, aru. Done."

"Wonderful!" Ivan walked over to the table in front of the bed, pulling out the drawer and gathering maps and a compass into his arms. "Here are the basic materials we will need to navigate back up to my kingdom. Am I to assume we have another mode of transportation other than walking? It takes a fortnight to get to the castle by horse, and that is only a rough estimate."

"They left me a pony and some food. We're fine."

"A _pony_." Ivan shuddered. "My friend has a pony."

"Really."

"It bit me once."

"Smart horse."

"Humorous. I cannot breathe, I am guffawing so hard."

"Ha, ha. I doubt you're a pot full of comedy gold yourself, so I wouldn't be talking if I were you."

"We should quit it with the insulting of each other if we are to be cohabitating together for the next two weeks."

Did he even _know_ what 'cohabit' meant? If he did and used it on purpose, Yao was going to smack him.

Yao sighed and plopped on the bed, holding his face in his hands and ignoring the prince. This entire thing was almost too complicated to comprehend. Ivan stopped his rambling and looked at the downtrodden Chinese man. He seemed so depressed it looked as if he were internally debating over whether or not to jump out of the nearest window. The Soviet, in a rare gesture of friendliness that didn't hold an ulterior motive, softly sat on the spot next to Yao, dumping the supplies next to him and wrapping his arm around the other's waist.

Yao raised a threatening eyebrow at him.

Ivan gradually pulled back his arm and settled on resting a hand on Yao's shoulder as the glare intensified. Two arms worked better than one, after all.

"May I help you?" Yao asked.

"You seem sad," Ivan said, deadpan. "Why?"

"It's nothing, aru."

"Contrary to popular belief, I _do_ care about some people. What is the matter?"

"I told you, _nothing_."

"As a wise man once said, 'if you abandon your worries, they will only come back to haunt you'."

"And who said that?"

"I… cannot not remember."

"Right. You conveniently can't remember."

"I swear someone has told me that! When I was younger, you see."

"It was a nice piece of advice, I'll give it that."

"Exactly." Ivan scooted closer and rested his other hand on Yao's knee. "So, as you were saying?"

"I wasn't saying anything."

"Da, you were. You were telling me about what is currently making you ill at ease."

"Do you think you're clever?"

"Da. Very much so."

"It's none of your business, aru, so quit bugging me."

"It _is_ my business, comrade."

"How?"

"If you were set to sleep for eternity and the most beautiful man you have ever imagined saved you using unknown means, would you not feel a bit of compassion for them?"

"As flattered as I am, you don't have to know everything about me."

"All I wanted to know was what was bothering you. I am suddenly a criminal?"

"For one, you're touching me."

Ivan removed his hands and held them up innocently.

"No more touching from now on, then," he stated. "See? Truce?"

"Thank you," Yao said. "Just don't get too touchy-feely with me, okay?"

"Da," Ivan consented. "Why did you journey here? Or is that question too personal?"

"Ass. I just don't like being touched."

"Oh, I know that."

The Chinese man scowled.

"Are you ever happy?" Ivan asked, going unaffected.

"_Yes_, aru," Yao snapped. "You don't even know me."

"And whose fault is that? Certainly not mine." Ivan crossed his legs and rested his head in his palm, giving Yao an extremely intense look. It felt like the prince was undressing him with his eyes, and if he didn't stop, Yao was going to get up and leave. Ivan could drop dead for all he cared. "You seem like a most interesting person, Yao. I am positive I could come to appreciate you like I have no other."

"Was that a compliment?"

Ivan ignored the irked query. "Once again, why are you here?"

"Honestly? I'm looking for a princess."

"I would enjoy finding one, too."

"… I meant seriously."

"I can assure you there are no princesses around here. What made you think one would be in a _forest_?"

"Jeez, forget I ever said anything about a princess. I just thought you could help and tell me if there's another tower somewhere, aru?"

"Not that I know of."

Yao's heart dropped to his stomach.

"You are much too melancholy for someone of your age," Ivan noted. "You should be, how should I put this, full of life? Da, that sounds good."

Yao refused to make any comment concerning his age.

"I wonder what has befallen you to make you so…" The prince gave Yao another scrutinizing gaze. "I do not know how to word it."

"Good. Keep your opinions to yourself and your nose out of my business." Yao stood from his place on the bed and regarded Ivan with an impatient look before the other could say anything else. "Are we going soon or not? I need to get to the Nordics."

"Tell me," Ivan said, following suit and grabbing his things, "would you be opposed to staying at my friends' house for a day or two?"

"Your friends, aru? You have friends?"

"Plenty. Toris is my very best friend, Eduard is all right, I dislike Raivis but I take a grand enjoyment out of torturing him, so I suppose he counts, and those three are all my cousins. Then there is Feliks, the lover of Toris, and while we are not too fond of each other, we deal with it. And there is Alfred, who is not what I would call a friend, per se. He is more of a person who is always up for an engaging argument and lets me stay with him on a rare occasion. And he is usually with Arthur, Francis, and his brother whose name I cannot seem to recall."

"… You know an Alfred, an Arthur, and a Francis?"

"Da."

"They must be common names."

"How do you figure?"

"I know people by those names, too, but—"

"You do?" Ivan's eyes sparkled. "You know them? Alfred, Alfred F. Jones?"

"The cowboy?"

"… No."

"No?"

"Alfred F. Jones grows peaches in Georgia."

"_No_, he's a cowboy from Texas."

"They must be different Alfreds. Is Arthur a knight?"

"No, he's a wizard. Kind of."

"No, you must understand, Arthur Kirkland is a knight who is searching for the Holy Grail."

"Ivan, aru, he's a wizard who's searching for the key to getting into Alfred's pants."

"They are already lovers."

"No, they're not."

"Fine. Then Francis is a French baker?"

"No, he owns a vineyard."

"At least Alfred's older brother is a Canadian, da?"

"Alfred's _younger_ brother is."

"Alfred does not have a younger brother. His Canadian sibling is older."

"Look, never mind. We must know different people."

"Da. So, as I was saying, my friends Toris and Feliks own a cottage in the woods here." Ivan laid out a map and spread it across the bed, but was startled when he found a piece of white scrap paper lying in the folds. "A letter?"

"A letter?" Yao snatched the paper before Ivan could get his hands on it.

_Thought you two would need this! Turns out I was right, like always. Go figure! Norge can suck on it. He knows jack._

_ -Denmark_

"What does it say?" Ivan asked.

Yao crumpled the piece of paper into a ball.

"It's blank, aru," he lied. "Nothing too important."

"We could use that, at least," the Soviet said. "Fuel for fire. In case you have not noticed, this forest is almost at subzero temperatures."

"I've noticed, thanks."

Ivan shook off the harsh remark and turned back to the map, trying to figure out a route.

"We will take this path," he instructed, beckoning with his hand for Yao to watch, "and rest only when need be. You see how long it is. Should we go a day without sleep, it will be acceptable. The sooner we get home, the better, da? The places we will need to avoid are here, and here. Toris's cabin is around this area, about the halfway point to the castle. We shall stop there, eat, etcetera, and then be back on our way. It will take two weeks at the most if we follow my plan."

"Great. And why does your friend live in the middle of forest?"

"Toris used to live in the castle with me and his brothers, but for some reason he and Feliks moved there on a whim. I am not entirely too sure why, though I have never asked because I stay with them often."

"That's nice."

"I should say I _used_ to stay with them. I bet they all miss me by now. I do wonder…"

Did he ever shut up? Even when faced with glaringly evident sarcasm, Ivan bravely continued to prattle on and on about things Yao didn't find riveting in the least bit. Maybe he liked the sound of his own voice? It was possible. _And_ annoying enough to make someone want to bash their head against the tower's bricks.

"Are we going to get out of here or do you want us to stand around all day, aru?" Yao asked.

Ivan halted his speaking and didn't answer.

"_Well_?" Yao pressed. "Like you said, the sooner we get there, the better."

Ivan made no official reply, as he heard the undertone of 'the sooner I get away from you, the better', but he waved it off and again took the navigational tools into his grasp, and jerked with his head for Yao to follow him. Down the unbearably endless flight of unnecessarily spiral stairs they went, neither feeling the need to strike up any sort of conversation. Not even Ivan, the chatterbox Yao had already made him out to be, made any other noise than the sound of his boots slamming against stones.

Once they reached outside, there were no birds chirping or flowers sprouting up underneath their shoes.

No choir of angels singing their praises at a job well done.

No ray of the sun was attempting to shine through the clouds and warm the ground, spontaneously melting the frosty atmosphere.

There was no wind making their hair dramatically blow as they reached for each other passionately and dashed off to their happily ever after.

And, with a glance in Ivan's direction, Yao decided that it obviously wasn't true love.

* * *

**A/N**: Fail, China. I mean... fail. In every sense of the word. DAMN IT, MAN. Insensitivity FTW-Kidding! But I think that's China's mindset. ("If I'm a dick then he'll definitely fall in love with me! It's fool proof, aru! Yes, let's do this thing!") And next chapter is Finland and Sweden (Sweden/Finland! *spasm*). Yaaay~ I can't have them missing for too long without going crazy, you know xD Also, I don't know if you want to look into it, but there's something _wrong_ with Russia in here. His thinking is completely off-kilter, because... Well, I won't spoil it C: I kind of made it really obvious in here, but whatever. Some people skim read and prefer not to think when reading fanfiction (me! oh shit why did i admit that).

And is it just me, or would fanfiction be totally better if there was set background music? I mean, why doesn't life have epic music playing in background when epic shit happens? FF needs to build in, like, a music player or something so that way I can make people listen to shitty alternative bands my friends make me listen to with crappy lyrics but good music (I'm into music for the music, not the emo 'kill me' lyrics or singing, though bad singing makes me want to scream). Or Lady GaGa. Yeah, Lady GaGa. That's a good idea. PAH PAH PAH POKAH FACE PAH PAH POKAH FACE. Deep words right there, bitches. I wish I wrote poetry like that. And am I the only one who giggles now when people name Cuba 'Alejandro' in fics? God, my headphones are a piece of shit...

Anyway, catch you guys next time! Whenever I update... *whistles* ;D Who reads these A/Ns, anyway...?


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